The London Society was formed at a meeting held on the 30th
September 1889, under the Chairmanship of the then President of the
RFU, Mr A. Budd. The proposal to create a referees' society was
well received by London clubs and within five years, the number of
refereeing appointments to clubs during the season had reached
652.
George Harnett became Hon. Secretary of the Society in 1897/98;
a year later he took on the additional office of Hon. Treasurer and
held both these positions until 1911. His personality and drive
carried the Society through a period when member clubs became more
exacting in their requirements and more critical of the
capabilities of referees. Membership remained fairly static for the
first decade of the Society's existence but by 1910/11 had reached
107 referees and the appointments in the season exceeded 1000.
Mr H. A. Taylor succeeded George Harnett as Secretary/Treasurer
in 1911 and two years later Arthur Trollope was elected to the
office of Secretary, with Taylor continuing as Treasurer. The
Society, then, as now, was fortunate to be administered by
enthusiastic, hard-working and long-serving officers, especially
Arthur Trollope who continued in office until 1947.
Nearly all rugby football, other than in schools and the
Services, closed down during the Great War of 1914 - 1918. The
Society continued to find referees for most of the games played in
the London area, notwithstanding the fact that the majority of
pre-war members were serving in the Forces.
About 50 members attended the AGM on 14th October 1919, the
first meeting for five seasons. Over the next few years, activities
resumed at an increased pace, with appointments reaching 2000 in
1922/23 and 3000 by 1925/26 when, for the first time, over 100
referees were supplied on a single Saturday.
Rugby activities once again came to a halt with the outbreak of
the Second World War in September 1939. A considerable number of
London clubs carried on somehow and the Society managed to provide
them with officials, even though only about 80 members were
available. Difficulties increased as the war progressed: the number
of available referees was halved, telephone and postal services
were chaotic and fixtures and officials had to be arranged week by
week. Subscription income from the clubs dropped alarmingly but,
happily, prudent
pre-war financial management had created sufficient reserves to
enable the Society to remain operational. Much is owed to Arthur
Trollope and his wife, who somehow managed to keep the Society
together during this testing time.
When peace returned, rugby, both for the clubs and the Society,
gradually returned to normal, although it was a slow process. In
the first post war season, only eight active referees were
available, but great efforts were made in recruitment and by the
end of 1946/47 the number had grown to 130. Much reorganisation was
necessary but a year later 66 new referees had been recruited and
the number of appointments during the season had risen to
3036.
The format of the Society handbook was revised and updated and
in 1948/49 a Handbook was published containing, for the first time,
a list of all the member clubs and full travelling directions to
their grounds.
The game of Rugby Football spread widely following the Second
World War and the London Society found itself being called upon to
give advice and guidance to other societies all over the world.
Societies were also being founded in areas adjacent to London and
London members took a leading part in their creation and
management.
The work of the Society doubled over the next 20 years:
appointments in 1947/48 were around 3000, the next season 4,334,
over 5000 in 1959/60 and five years later the 7000 mark was
achieved. Increased work loads, numbers of clubs and RFU demands
have necessitated administrative restructuring of the Society's
management from time to time and perhaps two of the more recent
reorganisations should be noted.
In 1977/78 the "Lamb Report" by Air Vice Marshall G C Lamb was
presented to the Society. While most of the recommendations
contained in the report were introduced at one time or another, the
Society remained a single autonomous unit. It was not until October
1995 that John Raywood's "Review Working Group Report", an
initiative inspired by J A Trigg (President 1995-98), recommended
that while the Society should remain one united Referees Society,
it should be structured on the basis of four semi-autonomous
regions. This review, with
minor amendments, forms the basis of the present day structure of
the Society.
In the 1980s, a great deal of attention was given to the grading
and assessing of referees and three Society members were among the
first group of national assessors appointed by the RFU in 1982. The
Society organised an Assessors Conference for Societies in the
South and South-east of England in 1983 which paved the way for a
national conference in 1984.